Beijing battered by heaviest rainfall recorded in at least 140 years

Beijing has received its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days amid downpours that have triggered landslides and flooding in and around China’s capital.

At least 20 people have been killed in Beijing and its surrounding areas and 27 others are missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported, as rainfall swelled rivers and flooding prompted by ferocious torrents swept into people’s homes and torn down streets.

Photos and videos on social media showed flooding sweeping away cars on roads and a bridge breaking in half while a sinkhole opened outside a west Beijing mall.

The catastrophic flooding occurred as Beijing recorded 29.3 inches of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said, adding that it was the “heaviest rainfall in 140 years”.

The previous record for the heaviest rain was in 1891, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said on Wednesday, when the city received 24 inches of rain. The earliest precise measurements made by machines are from 1883.

Apart from Beijing, the nearby province of Hebei has also been hit by severe flooding because of record rainfall, with waters rising to dangerous levels.

The rain destroyed roads and knocked out power and even pipes carrying drinking water. It flooded rivers surrounding the capital, leaving cars waterlogged, while lifting others onto bridges meant for pedestrians.

Among the hardest hit areas is Zhuozhou, a small city in Hebei that borders Beijing’s southwest.

On Tuesday night, police there issued a plea on social media for lights to assist with rescue work.

It’s unknown how many people are trapped in flood-stricken areas in the city and surrounding villages.

On Wednesday, waters in Gu’an county reached as high as halfway up a pole where a surveillance camera was installed.

Nearly 850,000 people have been relocated, local authorities in Hebei said.

Thousands were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and in nearby cities. The central government is disbursing 44 million yuan ($6.1m) for disaster relief in affected provinces.

The record rain, as a result of typhoon Doksuri’s landfall, may not be the last as typhoon Khanun, which was lashing Japan on Wednesday, is expected to head toward China later this week.

High winds from the typhoon have hit power lines in Japan’s popular tourist destination Okinawa, knocking out electricity to more than 200,000 households on Wednesday morning, as the powerful and slow-moving Khanun neared the country’s southwestern islands.

The powerful storm, with surface winds of up to 180km/h, may also hit Taiwan before it reaches China.

The severity of the flooding took the Chinese capital by surprise.

While China often receives heavy rainfall and typhoons in the month of July, Beijing usually has dry summers. The heavy downpour this year comes after a record-shattering summer season due to the climate crisis.